... clean government movement to get to the point that we had reached by the 1950's - where corruption was of course not eliminated, but where it was not universally expected and tolerated.

Since then, we've been sliding back the other way, since its not something that maintains itself automatically.

I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.